“Marketable, Olympic champion, charismatic” - Why 'rock & roll' Remco Evenepoel was targeted as the perfect face of Red Bull cycling
Cycling
The speculation is over: Remco Evenepoel will leave Soudal - Quick-Step at the end of the 2025 season to join Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe. After months of rumours, the Belgian team confirmed his early exit from a contract originally running through 2026. The move marks one of the most significant transfers in recent cycling history — and, according to marketing experts, signals the next phase in Red Bull’s growing presence in the sport.
“Remco suits the Red Bull brand,” says sports marketing expert Manu Leroy in comments collected by HLN. “Of course, athletic performance is the foundation. But the next question is always: is the athlete marketable? Do they fit the brand? Remco is an Olympic champion, he’s got that rock & roll edge, he’s charismatic. That definitely played a role in the decision.”
Red Bull’s long-term strategy
Red Bull has increasingly positioned itself as more than a sponsor in elite sport — it owns teams across Formula 1, football, and now cycling, where it holds a majority stake in the BORA–hansgrohe outfit. The signing of Evenepoel is seen by experts as part of a long-term strategy to centre the team around a single, globally marketable leader.
Leroy believes that Red Bull’s choice of Evenepoel goes beyond sporting value. “They want winners, but they also want people who can carry a brand. Remco has that rare combination of elite talent and media appeal,” he says.
Unlike traditional sponsors, Red Bull takes full control of the teams it backs — from branding and media to athlete access and image rights. Evenepoel, with his outspoken personality and media presence, fits this model well. “Once Red Bull is involved in a sport, their approach is: if we’re in it, we’re in it to win — and to control the whole message,” Leroy explains.
With its own media house and digital channels reaching millions, Red Bull has already created a self-sustaining media ecosystem. Evenepoel is now set to become a central figure within it.
Evenepoel has a palmares not many in pro cycling can match
Symbolic shift in cycling
Evenepoel’s move comes at a time of shifting power dynamics in professional cycling. Although Quick-Step strengthened its GC ambitions with riders like Mikel Landa and Valentin Paret-Peintre, it struggled to match the resources of UAE Team Emirates - XRG and Team Visma | Lease a Bike.
Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe meanwhile, now backed by one of sport’s biggest marketing machines, appear positioned to change that — with Evenepoel as the keystone. “He’s the kind of athlete that can lead a team for a decade,” says Leroy. “And for Red Bull, it’s not just about winning races — it’s about owning attention.”
Evenepoel will see out the 2025 season with Soudal - Quick-Step, with the Tour de France expected to be a major target in his final year with the Belgian team. After that, he will begin a new chapter under Red Bull colours — one that, according to observers, could reshape the sport’s competitive and commercial landscape.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 4visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment